1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the finger grip holes provided in bowling balls to enable bowlers to accurately and safely propel them down a bowling alley. More specifically, it provides a mechanical device which, when inserted into a hole drilled in a bowling ball, will enable any bowler to adjust its diameter to comfortably match that of his own finger.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The sport of bowling is known and played by millions around the world. For those, however, who are for some reason unacquainted with this pastime, the object of a game of bowling is to knock down as many of the ten upright, vaguely bottle-shaped, wooden bodies, commonly referred to as pins, standing at the far end of a wood-floored alley or lane, as possible by rolling a dense, heavy bowling ball at them. Score is kept during the game according to well-established rules. A perfect score has the value "300"and is achieved in the relatively unlikely event that the bowler knocks down all ten pins each time he rolls or throws in the game.
We will be concerned here with the ball, which, as has already been noted, is heavy and dense, as it would have to be to knock down the pins standing at the far end of the alley by virtue of its momentum. Further, the ball is of a diameter that makes it virtually impossible to be handled safely with one hand. As a solution to this difficulty, and to avoid the necessity of propelling the ball with an awkward, two-handed motion, holes are drilled into the bowling ball for the insertion of the fingers of the bowler's preferred hand. Most often, three such holes, for a thumb and two fingers, are drilled, defining a triangle on the surface of the ball. Using them, the bowler can propel the ball down the alley in a fluid, one-handed motion toward the target pins.
The diameters of the holes are chosen to accommodate the fingers of the user. When one becomes enthusiastic enough about participating in this sport, he purchases a ball of his own and has holes drilled into the body thereof to fit the thickness of his fingers. This, however, presents a far from ideal situation because most other people will not be able to use that ball as the holes will be the wrong size for their own fingers. Moreover, the owner of the ball himself will find that his fingers will not always fit the holes as well as he might like. The situation is most acute for the novice bowler who, perhaps not owning a bowling ball, must search through those available at the bowling establishment to find one that gives the best fit. Compromise in this regard is unavoidable.
Clearly, the problems illustrated above would find a solution in a bowling ball having holes whose diameters could be adjusted. Such a solution is provided by the present invention.